I finally got a chance to read this, and I'm so glad I did! 3.09 was a difficult episode for me to watch. It was so hard to see Sam giving up and becoming more and more jaded and hardened, but it was even harder seeing Dean see Sam become those things. If that makes any sense. I just feel like, Dean truly thought he was doing the right thing, making his deal. As long as Sam was all right, Dean didn't care what happened to himself. But it turns out that Sam isn't going to be all right. Dean has created what is essentially hell on earth for Sam and Sam is going to have to deal with that all on his own. Dean has made this bed, but Sam's the one that's going to have to lie in it. And my heart breaks with the unfairness of it all, because Dean really was just trying to do what was best for his family. *sigh* I just can't even think about it for too long because I get all worked up.

I wish I had more time to ramble on about all the fantastic points you made, but the new episode is airing here in an hour and I must go, you know, prepare myself emotionally. *L*